Letters to the editor: Get rid of traffic fines

Published: February 17, 2014

Get rid of traffic fines

If you think Florida charges too much for traffic tickets, we have a friend in the Florida Senate. Contact Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, and let him know you support him. He stated that red-light cameras are being used by municipalities to generate money and have nothing to do with safety or reducing accidents. This is also true for speeding tickets and most other traffic infractions. Traffic fines have nothing to do with safety, but they are more for revenue generation. The biggest cause of accidents is distracted drivers. And not speeding or other traffic infractions.

I am glad Brandes has seen this and is going to try eliminating unnecessary fines, starting with red-light cameras. Hopefully in the near future all traffic fines will be eliminated or greatly reduced.

Thank you, Sen. Brandes.

David Reese

Tampa

Political ‘puffing’

A recent article about red-light cameras talked about how a state politician is trying to get rid of the cameras because, supposedly, they are only being used to garner revenue for governments. Whether they are or not is irrelevant when you consider that the main goal is to save lives and prevent accidents. The only way to get most people’s attention is to hit them in the pocket. That seems the only way to get some people to change their reckless behavior.

If that politician is so concerned about the money aspect why doesn’t he lobby to have the fines go to charity rather than killing a program that saves lives? Also, why doesn’t he present an alternative to cameras to help make intersections more safe? To me he is just puffing to get his name in the papers.

Paul Cotter

Tampa

No place for Cyrus

Regarding your choice of political cartoon Feb. 13 (“You quit while you were ahead?” Views): Here are four things I would like to see in The Tampa Tribune on a continuing basis:

I would like never again to see precious colored ink wasted on photos of Miley Cyrus with her tongue sticking out.

I would like never again to see precious space wasted on anything quoted by Cyrus.

I would like never again to see precious editorial space used to highlight her bony, uncovered rear end depicted in a “political cartoon.”

I would like never again to see any reference to, or rendering of, her vulgar “twerking.”

Just for today, I would like to see an apology to the family of the lovely and honorable Shirley Temple Black, who never should have been caricatured in the same frame with the vulgarity of Miley Cyrus. Not funny, not newsworthy, not appropriate, not Tampa Tribune. Leave Cyrus to the rag sheets, where she apparently feels at home. Keep the Trib distinguished as the honorable publication it is reputed to be, and keep it so by always opting for news and information over sensationalism.

R. M. Scott

Valrico

Cooling on warming

Our daughter grew up in Tampa but has been living in Manhattan for the past two years. She is cooling on global warming.

Charles Taylor

Temple Terrace

A double standard?

Regarding “The full story behind special-education teacher’s firing” (Other Views, Feb. 13): When it comes to holding Hillsborough County school employees accountable for their incompetent actions, or non-actions, Superintendent MaryEllen Elia has a sickening double standard.

Remember Joyce Wieland? She was Elia’s general director of Exceptional Student Education when under her watch two school employees were arrested on child abuse charges that involved special-needs children. After this the school board was informed of the unsatisfactory and incompetent training of bus drivers, aides, etc., who interact with special-needs students. At the least Elia should have demoted Wieland for her incompetence and lack of attention to her job, but Elia did not do that. Double-standard Elia transferred Wieland out of her job as leader of special needs into another director’s job at the same salary.

For Elia to laterally transfer Wieland to be the director of Student Placement when Wieland was incompetent in her last director’s position is a sickening display of Elia’s favoritism for some at the expense of other employees’ morale. Real unbiased leadership does not reward incompetent employees by laterally moving them into a director’s position in another department over more experienced and qualified employees. In this instance Elia was good at one thing: injuring the morale of many good school employees.

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